Moment
by demilymoore
Summary: Emily and Derek meet in Chicago for a late night conversation and reminisce an event from the past. Set somewhere after season 12 / alternate somewhere in the middle of season 13.


_A/N: I haven't written a CM fanfic in over two years... I don't even know if people still read fan fictions? I'm not invested in the show anymore so I've no idea what's going on. But I have been rewatching the old seasons for the past few months and it turns out that my heart still beats as hard for Morgan & Prentiss as it always has, and that in return inspired this one-shot..._

* * *

Emily cupped her hands around the coffee cup, sipping carefully on it; the hot brew liquid touching her lips. The diner was empty, which – considering the late hour – wasn't unexpected.

The night sky outside was pitch black with only the full moon casting some light on the empty street outside. Inside, it was as silent as in a library; a damp light shone from the rusty headlamps over the tables and cast shadows over the worn floors.

Other than Emily herself, there were only two other tables that were occupied; one by a young couple, sitting close together, and the other by an elderly man that she was fairly certain was living on the street; judging by his worn and dirty clothes and the large black plastic bags that lay on the floor next to his chair. She wondered for a moment what his story was, how he had ended up being without a real home... She took another sip of her coffee and glanced towards the entrance.

She could sense his presence even before he entered; it was just one of those quirks that stuck after all these years of working so closely together and depending on each other in the field; having each other's back at all cost you had to be able to know where your partner was without looking.

He walked towards her table and suddenly Emily felt a little nervous, both at the fact that she had practically called him in the middle of the night – considering that it was past 10 pm – and at the fact that they hadn't seen each other for a while.

"Princess."

Emily felt her lips curve into a small smile at the sound of her old nickname. He had given it to her many years ago and it had just stuck; being used from time to time on given occasions; usually when they had playfully flirted in between cases or hung out after work or at each other's desks on long and slow days filled with paperwork.

"Hey." She greeted him and rose from her seat to give him a hug.

She felt his strong, muscular arms wrap around her and she leaned in closer to his body and sighed contentedly. There was something very familiar and very comforting about being in his embrace; having Derek's arms wrapped around her tightly made her feel safe and loved; it made her feel like home.

After what felt like an eternity, they slowly slipped out of each other's grip and sat down across each other at the small square shaped table. They had barley sat down when the young waitress walked over; asking if they wanted to order anything.

"I'll take a cappuccino." Derek said and flashed a grateful smile at her.

"I'm good. Thank you." Emily said and took a sip of the coffee that was left in her cup.

"So I'll take an educated guess and assume that the reason you're in Chicago has to do with the bodies that were shattered in the Calumet River?" Derek said, directing his attention towards the brunette. Emily nodded.

"We caught the unsub this afternoon and is flying back to Quantico tomorrow morning…"

"That's good." Derek said, just as the waitress showed up and gave him his steaming cappuccino; Derek thanked her, before moving his attention back to Emily.

He hadn't seen her since the last time he had been at the BAU; he had showed up unexpectedly after getting some strange texts from Garcia – texts that had actually been from Mr. Scratch – and Reid had been arrested. They had just had time to share a brief hug in her office; before she had had to get to work and out in the field with the rest of the team and he had taken off to see Reid before returning home to Chicago.

"I hope you don't mind I called so late…" Emily said as she put her coffee cup down on the table.

"Well… Thursdays are our date nights so you just called to interrupt a nice evening…" Derek started and looked seriously at her.

"Oh I'm sorry… I didn't –"Emily suddenly felt stunned and tongue-tied, she had just called him out of the blue on a late night, without a thought that he might have been preoccupied. Then his faced cracked into a wide smile.

"Emily, I'm just kidding. It's alright. I'm actually glad you called. Surprised, but glad. Savannah got called into work and my mom has Hank, since we usually do go out on Thursdays, so I was just sitting at home twiddling my thumbs anyway."

Emily rolled her eyes at him; she should have known he was messing with her.

"Well, I'm glad I could drag you out of boredom then." She said sarcastically. Derek laughed.

"No, but to be serious, I am glad you called."

Emily gave him a small smile and looked shyly at him. "I couldn't sleep… And I just couldn't bear the thought of being in Chicago and not seeing you…"

"Well, like I said, I am glad. I miss you, all of you." Derek said in a soft voice.

"We miss you too, a lot." Emily responded carefully. It was the truth, she did miss him, and she knew the rest of the team missed him as well. It just wasn't the same without him.

The newest members of the BAU; agents Luke Alvez and Matt Simmons were great agents and they fitted in well with the team, but there was no doubting the fact that they weren't Derek Morgan. While everyone had understood and respected Derek's decision to leave the FBI to be with his family, they still missed him a great deal and he would always be a part of their family.

"And I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the BAU as well. But I made a promise to my son; to my family. They are the most important in my life."

Emily shifted and met his gaze. "I know. How are they? Is Hank talking yet?"

"He's good, Savannah is too. And he is walking, or you know, it's not really walking, more like waddling, but it's super cute. And he's almost talking too, babbling away all sorts of words that don't really make sense, but he is saying some real words here and there."

Derek's face lit up in a smile while talking about his son and Emily couldn't help but smile as well. Derek clearly adored his son and it was obvious that parenthood suited him, and that he had no regrets of leaving his career behind in order to priority his family.

"Sounds like you have got your hands full." Emily grinned.

"I do, and I enjoy every second of it. But what about you? Has any guy caught the heart of the badass, yet lovable Emily Prentiss yet?" Derek asked and winked playfully at her.

Emily shook her head. "No… My life is just filled with a lot of unsubs. You know what the BAU is like."

He did know, of course he did; he had worked in the FBI for over a decade; the draining hours of paperwork and the traveling back and forth all over the country, to help the local police departments with cases of serial killers and abductions and all other sort of crimes and horrific criminals. It was exhausting and occupied most of your waking hours, leaving little to no time for a life outside of work.

"You deserve to be happy Emily." Derek said gently, reaching across the table to put a comforting hand on hers.

Emily raised her eyebrows in a questioning matter. "Who said I'm not happy? I love my job."

Derek sighed. "I know and that came out wrong, I just mean that there is more to life than work. And you deserve to be loved Emily, to have someone to be loved by…" He said softly, looking her in the eye. Emily shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she had not expected that.

"Well I'm pretty sure all good men out there are already taken." She said jokingly, trying to light up the mood, even though there was a part of her that couldn't shake what he had just said; his words had hit a nerve. She had been honest when she had told him she loved her job, she did, but there were days were she longed for more than just an empty apartment to come home to. They sat quiet for couple of minutes, deep in thought, until Derek spoke again:

"You know Emily, I might not be your partner anymore, but I still know when something is bothering you and you can tell me, whatever it is." He said in a soft voice, he still knew her so well, even after all these years of not working together and not seeing each other every day.

Emily bit her lip, debating on whether or not it was worth bringing up, if it was worth the risk. After debating it in her mind, she decided that it was, after all it was one of the reasons why she had called him; of course because she missed him and wanted to see him, but also because the matter had turned up in her mind when she had gone to bed earlier tonight and she just hadn't been able to get it off her mind. She sighed.

"Do you remember the night of JJ and Will's wedding?"

"Of course, how would I ever forget that? It was the night you told me you were leaving for London…"

Emily nodded slowly, a little disappointed. "Yeah… but I meant after…at my apartment…"

Derek looked at her thoughtfully, and then he said in a soft voice: "Emily, I could never forget that. It's a memory that's eternally printed into my mind…"

* * *

 _"You didn't have to walk me to the door you know." Emily said as she dug through her purse for her keys._

 _"I know. But I wanted to." Derek replied casually._

 _"Such a gentleman" she teased with a grin and turned around to look at him; he was standing much closer than she had expected, not that she minded; they had had their bodies pressed intimately together most of the night already, while sharing several dances at the wedding._

 _"Oh yeah? Am I still a gentleman if I do this?" Derek asked, as he leaned in closer and pressed his lips to hers. It took a couple of seconds for Emily to react, but once she did, she kissed him back and the keys she had held in her hand fell to the floor with a thud._

 _She could taste the sweet taste of champagne off his lips as they gently, but firmly pressed against hers. Derek moved closer to her, so Emily was backed up against the cold steel door; she could feel how his hands wandered to her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her; deepening the kiss._

 _The sound of a door unlocking and opening down the hallway broke them apart. They both breathed heavily and Emily's mind felt dizzy; partly due to the fact that Derek was an exceptional good kisser, and partly due to the amount of alcohol she had consumed during the night. Derek – being the quickest thinker of them at the moment – reached down and picked up the keys and unlocked the door; moving both of them inside._

 _Once the door closed behind them, their lips found each other again and Emily was once again pressed up against the door. She let her green shawl fall to the floor and then proceed to remove his jacket, but when Derek's fingers found the zipper at the back of her flower-patterned dress, she could feel her body tense for a second and Derek felt it too, as he immediately removed his hands from her back and stepped away a bit and looked at her._

 _"What's wrong?" He asked in a rapid voice, a concerned look on his face._

 _Emily bit her lip. Her head was spinning with a million thoughts; they were about to cross a line that could possibly change their relationship forever, a line that they had balanced on for years, without either of them taking the step across it; the line between friends and people who admitted that they had more than just platonic feelings for one another. Were they ready for that? Did they want that to change? But before Emily could find the words, Derek spoke again:_

 _"Emily, you tell me you don't want this and I'll be on my way right now and we can forget this ever happened."_

 _"No. I don't want you to leave."_

 _"Then what's holding you back? You're not going to be with the BAU for much longer, we are not breaking any existing fraternization bureau rules. I want this, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you do to."_

 _She did, of course she did. She had wanted this for as long as she could remember and right now where no difference._

 _"I do, I just… I'm going to London, there is no changing that…" she finally said. Derek moved closer to her again, meeting her eyes._

 _"I know. Do you trust me?" he asked._

 _"More than anyone else." Emily said confidently._

 _"Then trust me, let your guard down Emily, just for tonight… follow your heart, what is it trying to tell you?"_

 _Emily nodded. She still had her worries, about what this could mean for their friendship and the fact that she was soon going to be moving thousands of miles away. But she knew what she wanted and she chose to listen to her heart and push the thoughts far back in her mind._

 _She wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and leaned up to kiss him again, he returned the kiss instantly and they picked up where they had left off; going in an even more fiery speed this time, wanting to waste no more time than necessary._

 _Derek moaned as he parted her lips with his tongue, and Emily ran her hands over his chest, under his shirt until she grabbed the hem of it and pulled it over his head. Derek's fingers once again found the zipper of her dress and he pulled it down as they stumbled backwards down the hallway._

 _"Bedroom?" he breathed while moving his lips down her neck, at the same time as he slid the dress off her body._

 _"First door to the right." Emily gasped in response and they moved towards the door opening, walking backwards until they reached the end of the bed; where they continued to explore each other's bodies for the next couple of hours…_

* * *

Snapping back into reality, Emily finally asked him the question that had been burning on the tip of her tongue all night…

"I just... do you think it could've worked? If the timing hadn't been so off and… do you think we would have been able to make it work?" Emily carefully met his gaze, hoping he would understand what she was trying to say.

"As a couple?" he asked, just to clarify that they were on the same page. Emily nodded.

"I... I don't know. I honestly don't know… I _wish_ I could say that we would have been able to... but I can't." Derek spoke as he rubbed his eyes in frustration and tiredness. He wanted to give her a better answer, but he couldn't and he had to be honest.

"I know." Emily spoke softly. She did know; she knew he couldn't say it, more importantly, she _knew why_ he wasn't able to say the words out loud. And a part of her was relieved, because even though the question had been burning in the back of her mind all night, Emily wasn't sure she had actually wanted an answer; especially not when she knew that it wouldn't change anything.

For Derek, the thought of saying how he wished that a relationship with another woman would have been a possibility – while being married – felt wrong; almost equal with cheating and Derek felt guilty for just allowing the thought to take form in his mind.

If it had been any other relationship, then he wouldn't have had a problem with speaking his mind, but this was a relationship with a woman who he had a complex history with; a woman he cared deeply about and valued his relationship with. It was also the fact that he – in the past – had been in love with her, and still loved her dearly, even if it was just as a friend.

"It's a great memory though; it was a beautiful night…" Derek replied instead and for a mere second, Emily thought she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes as he spoke the words…

"Yeah… it was." Emily mumbled and glanced down at her wristwatch, it was a lot later than she had thought.

"I think I need to get going… it's getting real late and I should probably catch some sleep before we fly back to Quantico."

Derek looked down at his own watch. "Yeah, I should head home as well and I think the staff wants to close up and go home too, and we are the last ones left."

Emily had been so caught up in their conversation and reminiscing about old memories, that she hadn't noticed that they were the only costumers left. They emptied what was left of their coffee and stood up and got their jackets. Derek held the door open for Emily to walk first out through the doors.

"I will walk you to your car." Derek said as they stepped outside into the cold night air.

"Actually... I walked." Emily said, while buttoning up her coat, it was much colder now than it had been two hours ago.

"What? You did?"

"Yeah... our hotel is just a few blocks from here."

"Ok. But now it's in the middle of the night Em. I will drive you back." Derek said and began to walk towards his truck.

"I can take care of myself —" Emily began to protest, but he interrupted her.

"I've no doubts about that. But I don't like the thought of you walking alone in the streets of Chicago at this time of the hour. Just give me some peace of mind and let me drive you." Derek pleaded, looking at her.

"Okay." She muttered and walked past him to his car and got in as he unlocked it.

The hotel the team was staying at was located just a three blocks from the diner and without any heavy traffic; it took just a couple of minutes to drive over there. Derek turned in and parked in front of the main entrance of the hotel and put the car in park.

Emily undid her seatbelt and turned towards him and realized that the space between them was much less than she had realized. They were sitting so close that she could feel his warm breath on her skin… if the circumstances had been different, then maybe this night would have ended in another way…

"Thank you for the ride and for..." Emily began as she got ready to open the passenger door.

"Always." Derek answered and smiled at her, before continuing: "It was really good to see you, Emily."

"The feeling is mutual. You take care, Derek." Emily smiled back at him.

"You too. Goodnight Princess."

"Goodnight Derek."

* * *

 _Originally this fic was supposed to be much shorter, I definitely hadn't expected it to end over a thousand words; but once I started writing, my original idea drafted away and it sort of wrote it self and ended on a much longer note than it was supposed to from the beginning… Anyway if you read it, I hope you enjoyed it and I'd appreciate if you could take a minute to leave a review and tell me what you thought before you go... otherwise, thank you for reading._


End file.
